


Hidden Under The Half Moon

by catrasredemption (dimensionhoppingrose)



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Mildly Important OC, Princess Catra, Shadow Weaver is terrible despite not being in the fic, Useless Lesbians, canon compliant AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 04:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26346916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/catrasredemption
Summary: “And where were you?”The girl sighed, leaning against the wall as the guard closed the door. “In the village. Seeing people. You know,normalstuff.”“You know you’re not supposed to leave the palace grounds,” the king said heatedly. “Not to mention missing the arrival of the Bright Moon delegates.”The girl's eyes flicked to Adora for the barest second before settling on Glimmer, and a small smirk pulled at her lips. “Oh trust me, I wouldn’t miss this for anything. How’s it going, Sparkles?”Glimmer clenched her teeth, growling slightly before she spoke. “Bow, Adora. This isPrincess Catraof Half Moon.”Princess. Adora blinked once, twice, staring at the girl.Princess. She felt like her mind had frozen.So much for not making herself look like an idiot in front of another princess.——Season One AU. Glimmer, Bow, and Adora set out to recruit another princess, which is made slightly difficult by the king's refusal to get involved in the war. And Adora's inability to function.
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 40
Kudos: 639
Collections: Finished111





	Hidden Under The Half Moon

**Author's Note:**

> My brain said "write all the AUs" so I did.
> 
> Yes another Princess Catra AU that no one needs, but I was happy with how it turned out, so here we are.
> 
> This is just a one off-thing, I don't plan on turning it into anything. I just really liked how it all turned out.
> 
> Yes I named the king Leo, I'm not creative. But I mean. _Catra_.
> 
> A slightly more coherent explanation of Catra's powers can be found on my Tumblr: https://catrasredemption.tumblr.com/post/628037309107929088/catrasredemption-me-reading-a

“I never knew there was a kingdom all the way out here,” Adora said curiously as they followed Bow through the woods. His eyes were fixed on his tracker pad as he led the way.

“Half Moon cut itself off _years_ ago,” Glimmer said. “After the… the battle my dad died in. Half Moon also lost its queen that day, and the king kind of… reacted ten times worse than my mother did.”

“How—” Adora looked up and saw the wall they were approaching. “Oh.”

“Yeah, they closed off pretty literally,” Glimmer said, sighing. “I don’t know how much of a chance we have with King Leo, honestly. But their Runestone is insane, having that power on our side would be…”

“Wait, if the queen’s dead, who are we recruiting?”

Glimmer’s sigh was one of exasperation this time. “Her _daughter_.”

They approached the gate, and Glimmer teleported up to speak with the guards. The gate opened a moment later, letting them in. Adora looked around, wide-eyed. “They’re… They’re cat people,” she whispered to Bow.

“Magicats,” he corrected with a small smile. The outer town was bustling with people going back and forth between stores, kids running up and down the street, loud yells and laughter…

It was incredible, Adora thought.

She was so caught up in her gaping that she didn’t realize when lost Glimmer and Bow, or that two children were running at her until they’d already knocked her over.

“Oof!” All three hit the ground with a thud. Adora sat up, rubbing her head. The children were giggling.

“Sorry Miss!” One of them said brightly. “We’re looking for a ghost. Have you seen her?”

“A… ghost?”

“Yeah!” The kids giggled again. “She’s _invisible_.”

“Will you help us look?” The other child asked.

“Um… sure?”

Maybe they were lost. She stood, resolving to help them find their parents, but they were already running off again. “Wait, hang on!” She followed them into a nearby gathering of trees, watching as they ran around. “Where are your…”

Her voice drifted off when she heard laughter again, this time from above her. She looked up, and a girl — around her own age, maybe? — appeared out of thin air, beaming. Her bi-colored eyes flickered to the children, then back to Adora; she put a finger to her lips and disappeared again, One of the kids shrieked a moment later as he was lifted into the air, and there was the girl again, laughing.

“It’s the ghost!” The second child squealed. The hostage wiggled out of the girl’s grip, and they ran, screaming in fake terror. The girl disappeared again.

_What did I just see?_

“You’re not from around here.”

Adora nearly flew out of her skin, whirling to see the girl materialize behind her again. “Are… Are you actually a ghost?” she asked stupidly. The girl laughed.

“Nope, just a girl with a few magic tricks.” She wiggled her fingers. “Aren’t you a little far from home?”

 _If only you knew_ , Adora thought, her mind wandering back to the Fright Zone. “My uh… my friends and I are here on a diplomatic mission.”

“Oh yeah?” The girl snorted. “Good luck with that. The king’s a hardass. You’ll get further staying out here and helping the kids ghost hunt, trust me.”

Her tail wound around Adora’s waist, and suddenly they were both disappearing — not teleporting, as Adora had originally thought. They were _invisible_.

“ _Whoa_ ,” she breathed, blinking. The girl smirked.

“Pretty cool, right? Come on, help me terrorize some kids.”

She started off, and Adora followed without thinking. They found the children easily, and the girl pounced on them again.

“The ghost got us!” They shrieked. Adora didn’t help, but she watched, and she laughed. This was _so_ much more fun than embarrassing herself in front of another princess. She ran after the girl as the kids took off again, surprised by the workout she was getting. They were _fast_ considering their short legs, and the girl easily kept pace, her laughter echoing. It was such a sweet sound…

“Hey!”

The children yelled in real terror this time as guards descended upon them, and the girl dropped the invisibility without thinking. “Shit,” she hissed. Adora was about to say something, but someone grabbed her from behind.

“What — let me go!”

The girl whirled, glowering. “Stop—”

But another guard was grabbing her and pulling her away. Adora ducked her head, trying not to panic. Glimmer and Bow could vouch for her, but what about the girl? The kids? Were they in trouble?

Adora tried to ask, but she was ignored for the entire walk.

* * *

“Yes… this is She-Ra.”

Glimmer said it with such a sigh that Adora almost wished she had just been locked up. The king was a large man with tawny fur and bright amber eyes, a headpiece framing his face, dark red robes draped across his body. To say he didn’t look impressed was an understatement.

 _Way to go, Adora_.

“Where were you?” Bow whispered as Adora approached, face burning red.

“Long story.”

The throne room doors opened again; the trio turned to see a girl wearing a dark red shirt and leggings and wild brown hair slump in. It was the girl from the village. Adora’s heart jumped into her throat; she was ready to launch into an apology when King Leo spoke.

“And where were you?”

The girl sighed, leaning against the wall as the guard closed the door. “In the village. Seeing people. You know, _normal_ stuff.”

“You know you’re not supposed to leave the palace grounds,” the king said heatedly. “Not to mention missing the arrival of the Bright Moon delegates.”

The girl's eyes flicked to Adora for the barest second before settling on Glimmer, and a small smirk pulled at her lips. “Oh trust me, I wouldn’t miss this for anything. How’s it going, Sparkles?”

Glimmer clenched her teeth, growling slightly before she spoke. “Bow, Adora. This is _Princess Catra_ of Half Moon.”

Princess. Adora blinked once, twice, staring at the girl. _Princess_. She felt like her mind had frozen.

So much for not making herself look like an idiot in front of another princess.

“Do tell, what brings Bright Moon to dear old Half Moon’s humble doorstep?”

“We can discuss that over dinner,” King Leo said. “Please show our guests to their rooms. And change out of those ridiculous clothes.”

Catra sighed, pushing herself up. “Yes, Father,” she muttered, starting out of the throne room. Glimmer grabbed Adora and Bow to teleport after her.

“Uuuuuuuuuuugh.” Catra groaned as soon as she was sure they were out of earshot. “Thanks a lot, _Sparkles_.”

“What did I do?” Glimmer demanded.

“ _Existed_. No one would’ve noticed I was gone if you didn’t decide to pop in and — what even _are_ you doing here?”

“Regretting every life choice I’ve ever made,” Glimmer said through gritted teeth. “We’re rebuilding the Princess Alliance.”

Catra stopped immediately, whirling around. “You’re what? Your mother’s allowing that?”

“Yeah. So far we’ve gotten Perfuma and Mermista—”

Adora wasn’t entirely sure what happened, but suddenly Catra was grabbing all of them, and then with a _pop_ they were somewhere else. It wasn’t like Glimmer’s teleporting; it was disorienting and left Adora slightly shaken.

“What was _that_?” Bow asked, blinking rapidly. Catra was beaming as she bounced forward and hopped up onto her bed.

“Tell me _everything_.”

“Uh, can you explain _that_ first?” Glimmer asked, shaking her head. “Since when can _you_ teleport?”

“It’s not teleporting.” She disappeared again; Adora noticed an odd fold in the air where she had been before she suddenly came out on the other side of the room. “It’s _technically_ time traveling in the most minimal way. Like—”

Another pop, and then she was at her desk, getting a piece of paper and a pencil and scribbling a few things down. Then she was back in front of them, holding the paper up. It had an A in one corner and a B in the other, with a line connecting the two. “The quickest way to travel from point a to point b is in a straight line, right? _Unless_ you fold the two points together.” She folded the paper to demonstrate. “Then you’ve traveled from A to B without moving, but it still takes time. What _you_ do is teleporting — disappearing and reappearing in another spot. What _I_ do is fold time and space together. It’s really short range because space still needs to be crossed. A journey that takes a day, I could probably do in two or three hours. Across the room, though, that’s seconds. I can get across the palace and back again in two minutes, while just _walking_ it would take ten minutes.”

Bow was staring at the piece of paper, mouth hanging open. “You… You can time travel.”

“I _could_ time travel if I was actually allowed to _practice_ ,” Catra said through gritted teeth, crumpling up the piece of paper and tossing it over her shoulder. “But he’s so frustratingly annoying about it. He won’t even let me near me the Runestone anymore. He’s afraid if I get too powerful, I’ll want to fight.”

She flopped back on the bed, groaning. “Instead I just get to sit around here all day _dying_ of boredom.”

“You didn’t seem too bored when you were playing with the kids,” Adora pointed out. Catra raised her head, grinning crookedly.

“The village kids are fun. And no one treats me weird because no one knows what the fucking princess looks like.”

“What — really?” Glimmer blinked. “Your dad doesn’t let you out of the palace?”

“Nope.” Catra scoffed, sitting up again. “Not since Mom died. He knows I sneak out, but it’s pretty hard to stop me considering, you know, the semi time-travel thing and…”

She shrugged, and disappeared from view. “Did… Did she teleport again?”

“No, invisibility,” Glimmer said. “She’s had that since we were kids.”

“It’s pretty handy,” a voice spoke from behind them; they all jumped, whirling to see Catra reappear, grinning.

“You could be such an amazing asset for the Rebellion,” Bow said, wide-eyed. The grin faded, and Catra sighed.

“Yeah, well. Dad’s not letting me join that, so I guess I’ll have to settle for playing ghost with the village kids. Come on, I should actually show you to your rooms.”

* * *

They didn’t see Leo or Catra again until dinner. By then the princess had changed into “proper” clothes — robes similar to her fathers, and a head piece in place. Her hair was slicked back, tamer than it had been when Adora had met her in the village.

 _She was still pretty, though_.

Adora pushed that thought down, shoving a piece of fish in her mouth.

“Princess Glimmer.” All eyes turned to Leo, who had fixed the princess with a serious look. “I’ve extended you our hospitality due to our past relationship with Bright Moon. However, Half Moon will continue to remain neutral in this war. We have no interest in joining the Rebellion.”

Catra just stared at her father before looking back at her plate. “Your majesty,” Glimmer started slowly, smiling, “I know the last time the kingdoms worked together didn’t go well. But it’s different this time! We have She-Ra now, she’s been an amazing asset. Plumeria and Salineas have already agreed—”

“That is their choice, just as it is my choice to keep my kingdom safe.”

“Isn’t it technically Catra’s choice?” Bow asked, looking between the father and daughter. “I mean, she’s the one with the connection to the Runestone.”

Leo scowled. “My daughter is still too young for that responsibility.”

Catra’s jaw clenched slightly, eyes moving to look at her father. “I can handle it just fine. And what if I _want_ to fight for the rebellion?”

“I’ve made my position clear—”

“Would it kill you to ask my opinion?” Catra shot back. Glimmer suddenly realized how it felt for everyone else to watch her and her mother. “I’m an adult, and I can fight.”

“The Horde has already taken enough from us—”

“And it’s just going to take more if we don’t stop it! Why _shouldn’t_ we fight back?”

“ _Enough_ ,” Leo snapped, fiery gaze turning to Glimmer. “Princess Glimmer, I respect Bright Moon’s decision to continue the fight, but Half Moon will have no part in it. That will be the end of this discussion.”

“Dad!”

“Catra, we’ll talk about this _later_.”

Catra was fuming, her tail lashing furiously, as she settled back in her seat, glaring at her father. Glimmer exchanged looks with Bow and Adora. This was going about as well as her mother had warned it would. King Leo was even more protective of his only daughter than Angella was.

This wasn’t going to be as easy as impressing him with She-Ra.

* * *

Adora rolled over, staring at the wall. She felt like she had let everyone down for not being able to convince King Leo. It was late, and she _should_ have been sleeping, like Glimmer in the bed next to her, but her thoughts were completely consumed.

A shadow fell over her. “Hey Adora.”

She jolted up, surprised. Catra was sitting in the window, back in her shirt and leggings, tail swinging lazily behind her. “Princess Catra?”

“Psh.” Catra scoffed. “Please, I don’t feel like playing princess right now.”

“What are you doing?”

“Can’t sleep. And I’m guessing neither can you.” There was really no arguing with that. “Come on.” Catra held out a hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

Adora hesitated, but still felt compelled to take her hand.

This time, paying attention, she realized it _did_ feel different from Glimmer’s teleporting. That was instantaneous, requiring no movement, whereas it felt as if she spent a moment in the dark with Catra, legs moving weirdly fast.

They came out on top of the wall; Catra grabbed Adora to keep her from falling over, cloaking them both in invisibility. They were staring out at the woods, which were filled with quiet, magic light even in the darkness.

“Wow.”

Catra crouched, smiling. “This is my favorite view,” she said. “The woods are beautiful.”

“Have you ever been in them?” Adora asked, sitting.

“Once. It… wasn’t a great experience.”

Adora tilted her head. “What happened?”

“The Horde attacked and tried to kidnap me.” Adora’s stomach dropped to her toes. “This… person, I think? Got me while my parents were distracted. I was four or five, so my connection to the Runestone was kind of spotty, but I managed to teleport away. I have _no_ idea where I ended up, but some old lady found me. At least… I think she did.”

 _Old lady_. There was only one old lady running around the woods that Adora knew of. “W-What do you mean?”

“I asked Dad about it a few years later, and he said they found me right outside the gate just a few minutes after I disappeared. But I _swear_ I spent hours with this lady and fell asleep in her hut. She gave me pie and told me about her friends and kept rambling on about how destiny could change and it was too soon and she knew my name…”

Catra’s voice drifted off. She shook her head, laughing. “That’s the first time I’ve said it out loud in years. Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it?”

Adora didn’t think so. “What about the Horde soldier who kidnapped you? Do you… remember what they looked like?”

The princess shuddered, tail fluffing up slightly. “Yeah, _that_ was definitely real. I still have nightmares about her. I think it was a woman, anyway. She was wearing a mask.”

That was all Adora really needed to hear for her worst fears to be confirmed. “Shadow Weaver,” she whispered, hands shaking slightly. Catra looked at her, confused.

“What?”

“I…” Adora swallowed hard, blowing out a long breath. “I was… raised by the Horde. By the woman who tried to take you.”

“You’re from the Horde?”

She didn’t sound like she was judging. A little cautious, but not judging. Adora nodded once, keeping her eyes on the woods. “I um… I was raised to be a soldier. But I ran away. I was promoted and for some reason it just freaked me out. I stole a skiff, thought maybe I could clear my head, but I ended up crashing it.”

A long silence followed… and then Catra started to laugh. “You _stole a skiff_ for a crisis joyride and crashed it? Let me guess, that was the first time you’d ever broken the rules, too.” Adora nodded. Catra laughed harder. “Of course it was!”

Something eased in Adora’s chest. She started laughing as well. Catra’s laughter died off first as she listened to Adora. Her laughter was a nice sound.

“Do you think we would’ve known each other?” she asked curiously as Adora slowly calmed. “If… Shadow Weaver had gotten away with me?”

“Probably. There were only a few other kids my age, and we were all on the same squad.”

In another world, maybe they would’ve known each other. Maybe they would’ve been friends, Catra mused, rocking on her toes for a moment. “I’m glad you got away,” she said after a minute. Adora smiled.

“Me too.”

They sat in companionable silence for a bit, watching the trees. It was peaceful, Adora thought. She could get used to this.

Catra stood suddenly, ears twitching. “What’s wrong—?”

Adora didn’t have time to finish her question before Catra grabbed her shoulder, dragging her back into the darkness. They popped out behind a tree moment later. There were tanks just ahead of them, mowing down trees in their path. “The Horde,” Adora whispered, automatically reaching for her sword. It wasn’t there. “We have to get back.”

Catra nodded, grabbing Adora’s arm, and they were off again. They stumbled back into Adora’s room; Catra fell to her knees, breathing heavily. “Are you okay?” Adora asked, reaching for her. Catra waved her off.

“Yeah, that was a lot of teleporting and I’m not used to being that far away from the Runestone.” She steadied herself and stood, grabbing the pillow off Adora’s bed and tossing it at Glimmer. “Rise and shine, Sparkles, we have a problem.” Glimmer shot up, blinking furiously and looking around. “I’m going to raise the alarm.”

“I’ll get a head start.” Adora grabbed the sword, raising it above her head. “For the honor of Grayskull!”

Catra winced, squinting against the golden light that filled the room. Whoa. She blinked as the light faded. “ _Whoa_ ,” she breathed when she saw the eight-foot-tall woman. Muscular woman.

_Get help you idiot!_

She disappeared before Adora caught her staring.

“Dad!”

Leo shot up, wide-eyed, as Catra stumbled into his room. “Catra? What—”

“Horde.” She doubled over, resting her hands on her knees. She was back in that ridiculous outfit, he noticed. “The Horde’s coming. Adora’s gone ahead to try and stop them, but…”

Her voice drifted as Leo threw himself out of bed. “Stay here,” he ordered gruffly.

“Not a chance.” Catra straightened up. “I can help—”

“You’re not strong enough!” Leo whirled on her. “Catra, _please_ —”

“I’m sick of hiding! I can fight!”

“I said _no_!” Catra only flinched a little at the roar. “ _Stay here_. That’s an order, Catra. Guards will be up in a moment to protect you.”

He hurried off without another word. Catra stared at his open door, fists shaking.

 _Screw this_.

* * *

“Ha!”

Throwing a tank with people inside of it probably wasn’t the safest thing for the people, but Adora wasn’t in the mood to worry about it. Bow and Glimmer were there as well, and Half Moon soldiers were starting to join the fray. There were bots on the horizon, approaching from the Fright Zone. Adora gritted her teeth, looking around…

And her heart stopped when she saw a soldier right behind Bow, gun aimed at his head.

“Bow—!”

Adora already knew she was too late even as she started to run. Bow whirled to see his attacker, and…

The soldier disappeared.

“What?” Bow lowered his weapon, blinking. Adora stared blankly at the spot where the soldier had been. What just…

A very familiar laugh echoed overhead; Adora looked up just in time to see the soldier drop from about thirty feet, hitting the forest floor with a _thud_.

“Oh this is _fun_.”

Adora turned to see Catra appearing on a tree branch, practically glowing. Actually, she _was_ glowing. Or at least, her eyes were. Amber and blue, both lit up like flashlights. She looked giddy as she disappeared again, reappearing right above a bot and slicing clean through it.

 _Whoa_.

There was a distant roar as Leo joined the fight as well, and it quickly became obvious that the Horde hadn’t been expecting this kind of resistance. Between She-Ra, Glimmer, Bow, the king and princess of Half Moon, and the Half Moon soldiers, the opposing forces went down easily. Catra seemed to be enjoying herself, grabbing soldiers and dropping them in random places, slicing up bots, and even taking out a few tanks. It was kind of amazing.

(And a little distracting, but that wasn’t her fault.)

One last tank thrown away, one more bot blown up, and the soldiers were retreating. It was… odd, Adora thought as she watched the remains of the army stagger away. Had they just been testing the waters? Or had they thought they’d be able to roll over Half Moon?

Catra appeared next to Adora, looking absolutely thrilled, although she was panting slightly “Ha. That was… was…”

The glow faded from her eyes, and she stumbled. “Whoa!” Adora grabbed her, gently lowering her to the ground. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Catra leaned forward, forehead resting on her knees. “I uh… might of overcharged a little on the Runestone. I’m fine. It’s fine.”

“That was so cool!” Bow said as he hurried over, Glimmer right behind him. Adora rested a hand on Catra’s back, rubbing soothingly.

“It was all right,” Glimmer said, trying to sound dismissive. Catra chuckled.

“You’re not too bad yourself, Sparkles.”

She straighted up, grimacing slightly, and looked around. Her father was staring at the group, arms crossed, face set in a scowl.

 _Great_.

* * *

King Leo waited until morning, giving everyone time to recover from the abrupt fight. Adora, Glimmer, and Bow met in the throne room, where Leo and Catra were waiting. Seeing Catra in formal wear was _weird_.

“This doesn’t change our stance,” the king said firmly. Catra straightened up, looking at him.

“Dad—”

“No. We’ve maintained peace in our kingdom for years. I won’t paint a target on our backs now.”

“Your majesty,” Glimmer started slowly, “I understand that your first priority is to your kingdom, and that you want to take care of your people—”

“Then perhaps it’s time for you to take your leave.”

“ _Dad_.” Catra stood, scowling. “We can’t stay neutral forever. We have no idea when the Horde will come back—”

“And I will not stick my neck out to draw them here sooner,” Leo said, turning to his daughter. “I’ve made my decision, Catra, regarding the rebellion and you.”

“That’s not — wait.” Catra blinked a few times, eyes narrowing dangerously. “What do you mean you’ve made your decision about _me_?”

“I’ve clearly given you too much freedom.” Catra’s expression dropped. “You’ll have a twenty-four hour guard from now on.”

“ _What_?” Catra’s voice cracked. “You can’t do that!”

“King Leo.” Adora stepped up, hands out. “Please, we know you’re angry about the Horde attack, but you can’t—”

“Do you see fit to tell me what I can and can’t do in my kingdom, She-Ra?” Leo asked coldly, looking down at Adora. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, anxiety tying knots in her chest. “I would suggest you all return to Bright Moon. Princess Glimmer, please extend our well wishes to your mother.”

The trio stared at Leo, then looked at Catra. Her eyes were still fixed on her father, expression stricken.

“Yes, your majesty,” Glimmer finally muttered, turning away. Bow followed her lead, but Adora’s eyes stayed on Catra a moment longer. She was seized by the urge to grab her, to run, to never look back…

“Adora,” Bow called quietly. Catra looked down at her, their gazes meeting for a moment.

 _I’m sorry_ , Adora mouthed before turning to follow her friends.

* * *

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Angella said slowly, her voice sad. Her eyes were on the war room table. “Leo was distraught when he lost his wife.”

“Why can’t Catra take over?” Glimmer asked, frustrated. “She’s an adult, the kingdom’s _hers_.”

“It’s possible she doesn’t want to yet. Taking care of a kingdom is a lot of responsibility, and she’s still very young. It’s easier for her to continue to learn if she simply remains a princess and let’s her father handle the day-to-day aspects of running the kingdom.”

“And that means he can just lock her up in the palace?”

“That’s a personal matter between them, I’m afraid. I’ve no doubt Catra continued the argument when you were gone.”

“I feel like this is our fault,” Bow said. “Do you think the Horde followed us?”

“They may have picked up your trail,” Angella said. “Half Moon would be a target regardless, however. The Tiger’s Eye is a powerful Runestone.”

“Would’ve been nice to have it on our side.” Glimmer sighed, standing. Bow and Adora followed her out into the hall in silence.

“Hey.” Bow nudged Adora. “Are you okay? It seemed like you and Catra were kinda…”

Glimmer turned, eyes full of curiosity. “It’s… stupid,” Adora said uncertainly. “But she’s the first princess who hasn’t… I don’t know, made me feel like I have something I can’t live up to. Not that you do that!” she added quickly, seeing the look on Glimmer’s face. “Just, ya know, Perfuma, Mermista… they wanted She-Ra. Catra didn’t care about She-Ra or me fixing anything. She was just…”

“I think she’s lonely,” Glimmer said, turning away again. “I understand not agreeing with a parent about _any_ of their choices, but at least I’ve always had Bow. And Mom _does_ let me do things, even if she doesn’t like them. It seems like Catra is just trapped.”

Adora looked out a window as they passed it. She felt like she should have done something even if, logically, she knew there was nothing that could have been done. Leo had made his decision. Catra was living with it, however begrudgingly.

End of story.

* * *

Glimmer sure was keeping them running around, Adora thought with a slight wince as she climbed into bed. She still wasn’t entirely sure what had happened to her in Dryl, but Glimmer assured her she was better off not knowing. Either way, she was sore and she wanted to sleep.

“Hey Adora.”

She screamed, immediately rolling off the bed again. Laughter echoed through the room as Adora pulled herself, staring at the figure in the window.

“Catra?”

“Adora!” Glimmer appeared in her room, hands glowing. “What’s—”

She stopped when she saw Catra. “What… What are you doing here?”

“Would you believe me if I said my dad changed his mind?”

“No.”

“Then I’m probably better off not answering.” She jumped down, stretching. She was wearing what Adora had secretly decided to call her rebel clothes. “However, I’m here with a proposition. I would like to volunteer for the rebellion, on behalf of myself and only myself.”

Glimmer and Adora exchanged looks. “What about the Tiger’s Eye?”

Catra tugged at a small chain around her neck, a smooth, burnt orange stone coming out from beneath her shirt. “It was my mom’s. Before she fully bonded with the stone, she had a piece of it to bring everywhere with her. Well, two pieces.” She indicated a ring on her left hand. “They’ve been passed down in the family for years. I would’ve just bonded with the damn stone if I had time, but Dad put guards _in_ the room, so… I had to take what I could easily steal and run away with.”

“Don’t you think your dad’s going to look for you?” Glimmer asked. Catra shrugged.

“Probably. It’s not that hard to find me. But we’ve made it clear we think ‘taking care of the kingdom’ means different things. He can do whatever he wants to do, and I’ll do this.”

A smile pulled at Adora’s lips. Glimmer looked between them, then sighed and shrugged.

“We’ll see how it goes, then. Welcome aboard, Catra.”


End file.
